This year would have been Beatrix Potter's 150th birthday, and her most popular character Peter Rabbit is 114 himself. He's looking good for it and that instantly recognisable blue jacket has worn very well.

My children have mainly moved on from Beatrix Potter stories, but they have all enjoyed them, as did I when I was young, and he is still as popular today. We've been sent the latest DVD release from Abbey Home Media to review, and I also have a copy to give away to one of my readers.


The Tale Of The Great Breakout is the fourth compilation of animated adventures and comprises 6 Peter Rabbit episodes lasting over 70 minutes in total:

The Tale Of The Great Breakout
The Tale Of The Mystery Plum Thief
The Tale Of Benjamin's Strawberry Raid
The Tale Of The Downhill Escape
The Tale Of The Unguarded Garden
The Tale Of The Cat And The Rat

Today we drove into Manchester centre to visit the Artisan Bar And Kitchen where The Hut were previewing a few of their new items for Summer. It's a gorgeous day with no rain for once, so a trip into town was actually really pleasant, and we didn't even need coats. It was like being on holiday!


I like The Hut. They are an online department store who have some great bargains at times, and a really wide range of products. Several years ago I won a £250 voucher from their Facebook page just before Christmas. Everybody got extra that year.

This year marks the 45th birthday of Roger Hargreaves ever-popular characters, the Mr Men. Mr Tickle was the first book to be published, and as it was also the year I was born, it's probably no coincidence that Mr Tickle was also my first Mr Men book.


To celebrate the 45th birthday of the Mr Men a series of 4 new books and a special edition Mr Men Birthday Party Book are being released. The Birthday Party doesn't quite go to plan. It's Mr Silly's birthday and some of the Mr Men are not really capable of organising a party in spite of their best intentions!

I've been asked if I wanted to comment on a study which looks at the 'Age Of Payback' among British families. At first I thought that sounded a bit harsh, but actually what it's looking at is the age at which our children start to treat us to some of the things we have previously bought for them.


No-one needs to tell me how expensive adult children are - we have 4, including our 22 year old (who started his first full time job in January) and then the 2 small boys waiting in the wings. Although the dream is that they'll all get part-time jobs early on and support their own hobbies and pastimes, the reality is not quite so simple, and the need to revise and pass exams and go to College does somewhat get in the way.

If you have competent young readers who have a good imagination then you could do worse than take a look at One Third Stories. Started by two men (Alex and Jonny) who have a love of languages and storytelling, One Third Stories start in English and end in a different language. The stories are incomplete, and readers aged up to 11 are asked to finish them, with the best entries winning prizes.

I was really keen to review the My Living World Pocket Microscope, mainly because I have only very recently finally given up and thrown away the one which belonged to my second oldest son - now 18. After 10 years use, inspection and misuse it finally came apart never to be repaired. It'll have seen a few sights...


The My Living World Pocket Microscope is made by Interplay - the children's craft, nature, technology and science kit specialists. We've reviewed several of their kits, but this is our first in the My Living World range.

Blog On MSI is a blogging conference held at the Museum Of Science And Industry in Manchester. A local event which means for once in the year we don't all have to take the train down South. In fact this year some people even came up North to join us. We laid on some drizzle especially.


Knowing I was going to Geronimo Children's Festival on the Monday, I chose to avoid the Saturday night get together and I was bright-eyed when I arrived early with Sim, and Karen who was on the sign-in desk. She's having a baby...it's so exciting.

It's May 4th, so a Star Wars post is almost mandatory. We've been sent some great Star Wars goodies to review from the new The Force Awakens range from Character World. A reversible duvet cover and pillowcase, and a First Order Stormtrooper/BB-8 double sided canvas cushion...


In our house Star Wars isn't only reserved for 1 day a year, it's been a part of our daily lives since my oldest son was old enough to watch A New Hope. The Force Awakens has brought Star Wars up to date for my youngest children and Kylo Ren may be very much a villain, but he has also become something of an anti-hero for youngsters.

The Geronimo Festival is a festival especially for families with children aged 2-12. Last year it ran for 2 days at Tatton Park, and was so successful that this year they added 2 more dates at Harewood House in Leeds. We were invited along to review on the second day.


We're festival veterans, and I have been taking children with me for about 14 years. The weather is horrific for May, biting cold and wet, so we packed wellies, raincoats and extra socks. We also know food can be an issue, so we took sausage rolls, crisps and drinks. Aside from that, we took our 6 and 7 year old boys.

Next Friday 6th May sees the 2D and 3D cinema release of Robinson Crusoe in a brand new animated family movie from Studiocanal. To celebrate they are offering one of my readers a fabulous movie bundle with family DVD's and Robinson Crusoe goodies.


Tuesday the parrot and his quirky friends live on an uninhabited island. Everyone may think this is paradise except Tuesday, who dreams of travelling the world. During a fierce storm the explorer Robinson Crusoe winds up shipwrecked on the island, and an excited Tuesday initially sees him as a ticket to escape.